Project2:Layout 1
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
2/21/12
3:24 PM
Page 1
OSAA begins statewide competition to find best student section. Page A13
TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly Cloudy Highs to 49 Page A11 Lows to 30
The Chronicle
$1.00 Vol. 132, No. 3 14 Pages
www.thechronicleonline.com
Body of St. Helens man found in dumpster BY SHARI PHIEL news@thechronicleonline.com
ST. HELENS — The body of a St. Helens man was discovered inside a dumpster behind the Walgreens pharmacy in St. Helens on Monday morning. Just after 8 a.m. on Jan. 13, officers from the St. Helens Police Department were called to 175 S. Columbia River Hwy., after an em-
ployee at Walgreens found the body. Officers arrived to discover the body of a Ryan Donald Neveau, 26, of St. Helens. Police Chief Terry Moss said it appeared Neveau had somehow become trapped under the steel lid of the dumpster and suffocated. “An employee went out this morning because there was a delivery and found him,” said Moss. “This dumpster was not your typical Hudson Garbage one
with a thin, plastic lid. This had a very heavy steel lid. He got trapped in between that lid and the dumpster.” Although officials are not suspicious about the manner in which Neveau died, there are questions still to be answered about how Neveau came to be in the dumpster, which is housed behind a locked gate. “If he slipped and fell and the lid crashed down on him, we don’t know. We know how he died but we’d like
to know what he was doing there. We have officers out now talking to people. We’re just trying to figure out what he was doing last night just to see if we can figure out why he was there. There’s all kinds of speculation about what it could be.” Even though officials don’t know why Neveau was at the dumpster’s location, they are confident about the manner of his death. “For now we’re satisfied with the investigation as far
as how he died but we’ll be looking at why he was there. There was nothing suspicious about his death. The way he was found, the marks on his body, there was nothing to suggest it was anything other than the lid crashing on top of him,” Moss said. Officials also said there was no indication that alcohol or any other substances played a part in Neveau’s death. “Part of any death inves-
tigation like this, we take samples and they’ll go to the laboratory for analysis. We won’t know the results for probably weeks,” said Moss. “But there was nothing obvious in that regard.” Neveau was at one time co-owner of Staypuff Organics, a marijuana dispensary based in Columbia County. The dispensary closed in 2011 after being in operation for three months. He leaves behind a daughter.
This little piggie: rescue continues tradition of caring BY SHARI PHIEL news@thechronicleonline.com
ST. HELENS — For the past 20 years, Michelle Fudge has been creating a somewhat unusual sanctuary. Along with dogs, cats and the occasional flock of geese, Fudge also creates a safe haven for potbelly pigs, and even some fullsized farm pigs. Like so often happens, it started with one pig back in North Carolina – where she lived with her husband and children. She developed a special bond with that first pig. Soon she had rescued more than 20 of them. Potbelly pigs are a breed of domestic pigs that originated in Vietnam. They are much smaller than their farm cousins, but aren’t nearly as small as many people think. They typically grow to the size of a medium or largebreed dog, but because of their dense bodies can weigh anywhere between 20 and 300 pounds. Potbellies grew in popularity during the 1990s after celebrities like George Clooney started touting them as pets. But the cute little piglets soon grew, often far larger than their owners were prepared for and many where abandoned. When Fudge and her family decided to move to Oregon, she told her
INSIDE Classified Ads . . . . A9-10 Legal Notices . . . . A10-11 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Sports . . . . . . . . . . A12-14 TV Guide . . . . . . . . . . . A8 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . A11
That’ll do pigs! SHARI PHIEL / The Chronicle
A group of potbelly pigs wait somewhat patiently for the treats 14-year-old Hannah is handing out.
husband she wouldn’t go without her pigs. “We came over with about 20 pigs in a horse carrier,” said Fudge. Now settled on nine acres in the Yankton area, Fudge began taking in more of the little pigs. From there Baxter
Potbelly Pig Rescue was born. “We had a ton more come. People brought some over that were ‘fat’ but were actually pregnant,” she laughingly added. Eventually, Fudge found herself with more than 100
pigs to care for. That number has dwindled down to just over 50. There’s no doubt it’s hard work caring for that many animals, but it’s clear that Fudge, who works full time as a chemist, is committed to taking care of them. In fact,
a diagnosis “I made a promise to them,” she says. “A lot of these pigs are old and they will probably die here.” Many of the pigs, which are highly social animals, have been at the rescue for many years. Some of the
pigs are available for adoption (there’s no adoption fee) and for anyone wanting to adopt, the process is fairly easy. “We go and look at the home, of course. But if you See PIGS, Page A4
Navigating the economic development playing field When it comes to economic development in Columbia County, there’s no shortage of agencies, organizations, groups and nonprofits dedicated to that task. There’s also no shortage of acronyms to remember them by (enough to give a bowl of alphabet soup a run for its money). From CCET to Col-Pac, from SHEDCO to MESO, if you’re a business owner – or a potential business owner – it can be difficult to know where to turn.
In addition to each of these groups, many of the individual cities in Columbia County are focused on economic development. To better understand what each organization does, let’s look at some of the key players:
CCET – Columbia County Economic Team This county associated entity is led by its executive director, Chuck Daughtry, who came to Columbia County from the Port of Cascade Locks last July
following the departure of previous director David Stocker. AmeriCorps worker Drew Barbier joined CCET in September. He will remain until July 2014. CCET has four clearly defined goals: “to expand, retain and recruit businesses and industries”; to increase the per capita income and diversify the economy; coordinate delivery of professional economic development services; and to provide leadership. Unlike some of the other
groups and agencies, CCET zone in Vernonia to allow looks at the county as whole. a company already located “We’re a nonprofit there to grow. 501(c)6 set up to facilitate “I see opportunities eveconomic development erywhere. The county is perthroughout the county. We fectly situated for growth. are not the county, but the It’s got a lot of available county does help finance land and it’s close to a metus,” said Daughtry. “They’re ropolitan area,” he said. a member. And all of the But Daughtry recognizes cities within the county are there is a lot of work to be members, too.” done to get everyone in the For Daughtry, the outlook county, including the cities for Columbia County is defi- and other agencies, all movnitely positive. In fact, the ing in the same direction agency is currently working on expanding the enterprise See ECONOMIC, Page A4
Sauvie Island natural gas leak prompts bridge closure
SAUVIE ISLAND — Residents near the Williams Northwest Pipeline transfer station were evacuated and the bridge to the island closed after a gas leak was discovered early Friday morning. The transfer station, at 14430 N.W. Gillihan Road, supplies natural gas to utilities along the Interstate-5 corridor and is
about ½ mile from the bridge. Gas crews and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office responded to the leak, which was reported just before 6 a.m. on Jan. 10. According to officials from Portland Fire and Rescue, the leak was caused by an over-pressurization on the line, causing a faulty
release valve on the island to begin discharging gas. Noise from the gas discharge woke nearby residents from up to a quarter of a mile away. Several reported hearing noises similar to a jet engine taking off. Island residents in the immediate area were evacuated to the school parking lot or
boat ramp parking lot while residents on N.W. Larson Road on the other side of the channel were evacuated to Highway 30. Although the bridge was reopened about an hour later and residents were allowed to return to their homes, Sauvie Island Academy remained closed for the day.
Northwest Natural, which serves Sauvie Island, also sent crews to the island to double check the company’s equipment even though there was no indication of any issues. The pipeline, according to Williams, runs east through Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
Fatal crash on Lewis and Clark Bridge off-ramp Oregon State Police is continuing its investigation of a late Friday night single-vehicle fatal traffic crash that occurred on the eastbound off-ramp from Highway 30 to the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Rainier. The crash resulted in the death of a Longview, Wash.,
man. Just before 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 10, Rainier Police and OSP responded to the scene of the fatal traffic crash on the eastbound Lewis and Clark Bridge off-ramp near milepost 49. According to investigators, a 2002 Chevrolet S10
pickup driven by Mark Ross Vanzanyen, 41, from Longview, was traveling eastbound and began to take the off-ramp at a high rate of speed for the approaching sharp left curve. The pickup continued straight off the roadway, impacted a rock face em-
bankment and rolled onto its top. Vanzanten was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not using safety restraints. OSP troopers from the St. Helens and Astoria offices responded to the scene. Trooper Billy Bush is
the lead investigator. OSP was assisted at the scene by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Rainier Police Department, and Rainier Fire Department. Cowlitz County and the Washington Sheriff’s Office assisted with next of kin notifications.